The Bengaluru City Police has busted a gang which provided Indian passports to five people from Sri Lanka who were looking to move to the Middle East in search of jobs, Indian Express reported today.

The police said the Sri Lankan nationals were ready to pay anywhere between Rs 50,000 and Rs 150,000 for the fake passports.

On Wednesday, city police commissioner Prathap Reddy said that the arrested Sri Lankan nationals were identified as Selvi S Ravi Kumar, Manivelu, Shiju, Nirosha and Vishal Narayan. 

He added that those who helped them get the fake passports included Ameen Sait and Rakesh H, residents of Bengaluru, and HU Hyder and Mohammed Nawal, residents of Mangaluru. 

The probe revealed that Sait is said to be the kingpin of the racket and another accused, Sadiq Pasha, is currently absconding, the police informed.

According to police officials, the incident came to light on October 19 when Pension Mohalla police of Hassan town approached Basavanagudi police seeking information about Sadique Pasha, who was wanted in more than 36 burglary cases. Pasha had applied for a passport in 2020 under the name of Mohammed Karim.